Ball impellers



Oct. 4, 1955 Filed May 26. 1952 D. L. SAWTELLE BALL IMPELLERS 4Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 3% ATTORN EY-5 Oct. 4, 1955 D. SAWTELLE2,719,716

BALL IMPELLERS Filed May 26. 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Q W 3 7 vATTORNEYS Oct. 4, 1955 D. SAWTELLE 2,719,716

BALL IMPELLERS Filed May 26. 1952 4 Sheets -Sheet 4 INVENTOR @M *BmhATTORNEY-5 United States Patent BALL IMPELLERS Darwin L. Sawtelle,Milford, Conn. Application May 26, 1952, Serial No. 289,952

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-129 This invention relates to ball impellers, andmore particularly to a device particularly adapted for impelling a ballover the surface of a suitable lawn pool court.

The device is, in general, characterized by a head adapted to be placedin contact with the ground behind the ball, and equipped with a strikerheld under spring tension, and which, when released, strikes the balland moves it forwardly over the ground, the said head being connected tothe lower end of a shank member, and the shank member being equippedadjacent the .upper end with means for manipulating the device andcontrolling its operation.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved device of thisgeneral type suitable for use in playing the game of lawn pool, andsimilar games in which it is desirable to dispense with manual strokesfor impelling a play ball.

Another object is to provide an improved arrangement and construction ofa striking head and a spring mechanism located in a hollow shanklikemember extending from the head.

Another object is to provide an improved mechanism whereby the strikerdevice is energized or cocked and released.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation on a small scale showing a device equippedwith my improvements, the same being shown in playing position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation, partly broken away, of the deviceshown in Fig. 1, the striker being in the released position;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation corresponding to Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the same article;

Figs. 5 and 6 are, respectively, longitudinal sections on lines 55 and66 of Fig. 3; p

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the position of the partswhen the impelling spring is energized to the maximum;

Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the lower part of the device showing theparts in a position corresponding to thatfof Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is an end view of the device looking toward the upper end;

Fig. 11 is a section taken through the-shank immediately beneath theupper housing; and

Fig. 12 is an inside perspective view of one of the housing sections.

In the embodiment selected for illustration, the structure ischaracterized by a striker head adapted to be placed in contact with theground behind the ball, said head being connected at the upper end to ahollowshank memher, which, in the playing position, is at an acute angleto the ground surface, the upper end of the shank having attachedthereto a housing equipped with a rearwardly extending handle by meanslifted and placed in playing position. Extending from the housing inclose proximity to the handle is a portion of which the device can be.

of a trigger which controls the release of a coil spring located in thehollow shank, the release of the spring being effective to release astriking member in the head and permit the striking member to strike andpropel the ball. Extending rearwardly from the shanklike member at apoint near the housing is a cocking handle by means of which the strikeris cocked. In the present form the striker is a pivoted member pivotedat its upper end in a head portion which, in the playing position, issubstantially upright, said pivoted striker having at its lower part alink connection with a slidable member mounted in the lower end portionof the hollow shank.

In the drawings, the head of the device or implement is indicated at 20,the hollow shank member, which is preferably of tubular form, at 21, thehousing at the upper end of the shank member at 22, the handle extendingfrom the housing at 23, the trigger at 24, and the movable cockinghandle at 25. The forward face of the head 20, which in the playingposition is substantially upright, is indicated at 26, the pivotedstrikeris indicated at 27, and the link connecting the striker with thespring mechanism is indicated at 28. I

The shank member 21 is in the form of a tube which extends into a boreprovided in a sleevelike member 29 at the upper end of the head 20, theparts 20 and 21 being fastened together in a suitable manner as by meansofa bolt 30 passing through suitable lugs on portion 29, said portion 29being split so that by tightening the bolt 30 the tubular member can befirmly clamped in place. The head 20 is preferably made of skeletonstructure, as shown in the drawings, the forward face or Wall 26 havinga window 31 in which the striker is positioned and being open at thesides and. bottom but closed at the top.

The striker 27 is pivoted in the head by a crosspin 32 located in theupper part of the window 31, and the forward swing of the striker can belimited in a suitable manner as by providing a crosspin 33 in the lowerend portion of the window which is engaged by a lip 34 at the lower endof the'striker. In this form the pivoted striker is equipped with aseparate striker member 35 generally in the form of a pin having at theforward end a cushioning layer 36 of suitable material adapted to makecontact with the ball. If desired, the lower extremity of the head 20may be provided with suitable means for locating it relatively to theground, for example, a pointed locating pin such'as shown at 37.

At the rear face of the striker 27 the same is provided with a kerf 38in which is located thelower end of the link 28, said link being pivotedto the striker by a pivot pin 39 extending across the kerf. Similarly apivot pin 40 at the upper end of the link 'is positioned in a kerfprovided in the lower end of a plunger 41 that is movable within thetubular shank member, and is acted upon by a coil spring 42 interposedbetween the plunger 41 and a partition plug 43 fixed in the shank memberby suitable means such as fastening pins 44.

Referring now to the upper end portion of the device, it will be notedthat the handle 23 is'preferably made integral with one section 45 ofthe housing 22; This housing is divided laterally into two sections, oneof which is the section 45 and the other of which is the section 46,said sections beinginterconnected by suitable means such as four screws47 having nicked heads which are accessible at one face of the housing,namely, that r shown in Fig. 2, the other ends of the screw beingcompletely enclosed. The housing member 46 is provided at the upper endof the housing with a rectangular portion 47* fitting a notch in theother section, and at the opposite end section 46 has a yokelike portion48 adapted to fit over the tubular shank member and to clamp it in asemicircular recess provided in the other housing section. It will beseen from Fig. 12 that intermediate 0f its ends section 46 has twoinwardly projecting lugs in the form of yokes, indicated at 49, whichfit about'the tubular member. The section 45 of the housing has matinglugs abutting the lugs 49, and the four lugs thus provided serve as aguideway for a sliding sear, indicated at 50, which sear is adapted tomove crosswise with respect to thehousing and is inembracingrelationship to the tubular member and is provided at theright-hand side (Fig.5) with a notch 51 in which a portion of thetrigger 24 is received. The trigger 24 is pivoted in the housing bymeans of a pin 52 and has a spring 24. A spr-ing'53 arranged in theleft-hand side of the housing (Fig. presses the sear in-the direction ofthe tubular shaft. The sear member is in theform of a frame that issomewhat ringlike in character, the notch 51'being at the periphery andthe sear at'theopposite side being provided with an inwardly extendinglug 54 extendable through a slot 55 in-the tubularshank. The spring 53presses the sear in the direction of the trigger, andnormally holds thecatch lug 54 of the sear in theposition shown in Figs. 7 and-8, which isthe cocking position of the sear.

The plunger 41, movable in the lower part ofthe tubular member, isconnected by an elongated flexible connecting member such as a wire 56with a shouldered slidable plunger or bolt 57 in the upper'end portionof the tubular member. The wire 56 is attached to the plunger 41 at 58,and extends upwardly through the spring coil 42, the partition .43, andthrough other members hereinafter mentioned, and through the slidingplunger member 57, and has its upper extremity attached to the upper endof member'57, as indicated at59. The plunger member 57 cooperates withthe sear 50 in the manner hereinafter described. Immediately below theplunger 57 in the tubular member is a sliding cylindrical member orplunger section :60 rigidly attached to the cocking handle by suitablemeans such as a fastening screw 61. The handle 25 extends out of thetubular member through an elongated slot 62 provided in thetubularmember, as shown in Fig. 4. The handle 25 can move upwardly anddownwardly with referencetothis slot 62, the upward movement being acocking movement, as hereinafter described, and the downward movementbeing a movement under gravity to permit the handle 25 to drop to theposition shown in Fig. 5 when the-handle is released after cocking. Thedownward movement of the handle 25 is limited to the position shown inFig. 5 because of the provision of a plug or partition -63 in-thetubular member. An upward pull on the handle 25 causes the shoulderedplunger 57 to be pushed upwardly for cocking the gun.

In the present form, the striker can be cooked in any of three differentpositions by reason of the fact that the plunger57 is provided withthree spaced shoulders 57 57 and 57, spaced lengthwise along theplunger, the

arrangement being such that, when the shoulder 5'7 is engaged with theupper surface of the sear lug 54, the

spring 42 will be compressed to a certain degree, the

extent ofcompression being progressively-increased as the sear isengaged respectively with-the shoulders 57 and 57. When the spring iscompressed to the greatest extent, as shown in Fig. 7, the pivotedstriker will be in the position shown in Fig. 9, and when the spring iscompressed to the least extent, the striker will have the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 9, and intermediate these two positions there isa third position corresponding to the position of engagement of shoulder57 with, the sear. By this arrangement the player can have a certainamount of choice andexercise judgmentin respect to the amount offorcethat is suitable for impelling the ball under a givensetofconditions, and obviouslyrthis adds to the interest in the gamebeing played.

The shoulders 57 57 and 57 are preferably of the form or profileshown inthe drawings, each being-separated from, the adjacent one by acylindrical portion 57 of the plunger member. Each shoulder has acylindrical -peripheral-surface engaging the inner surface of the tube,and each has at one side of said surface a face engageable with the searlug and at the opposite side of said cylindrical surface an inclinedsurface suitable for camming the scar to a released position as theplunger 57 is moved in an upward direction.

It is considered advantageous to provide grooves in the lower surfacesof the handles 23. and 25 to accommodate the fingers of the operator.

In playing the game it is considered best practice to cock the device bymoving the sliding handle 25 upwardly to the extent required for whatseems to be the optimum effect in propelling the ball. The implement isthen handled by means of the fixed handle 23 so as to place it in theinclined position shown, for example, in Fig. 1. In this position thetrigger can be conveniently operated by the forefinger of the handgrasping thehandle .23. The striker .when released moves forwardly in anarc of such radius as to project theball forwardly in a straight line.It, is preferable to set the forward end of the striker pin somewhatrearwardly of the'ball'inorder to achieve the best results. The ballwill preferably be a somewhat elastic ball of approximately the size ofan ordinary baseball.

The-deviceherein described is constructed of metal, but'it is quitefeasibleto make. a number of parts of the device.of plastic material orother kinds ofmaterial.

The device herein described is of relatively simple construction, andits character is such that it is admirably adapted to the playingoi'lawn pool and other games in which, a ball is to be propelled acrossthe ground or other surface.

his to be understood that the illustrated construction is by way ofexample only, and that various modifications and changes in the detailsmay be made without departing from the principles of 'the invention orthe scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a devicesuch as described, a tubular elongated shank memberhavingupper and lower ends, a striker.

head or frame connected to the lower end of said member and which whensaid head is placed against the ground for impelling the ballwith saidshank member in an inclined position presents a substantially uprightframe portion closed at thetop and bottom, a forwardly movableswingingstriker member mounted in said frame portion and pivoted to thetop part thereof, a housing carried by the upper end of said shankmember andhaving a rearwar ly directed manipulating handle, spring meansfor actuating said strikermember enclosed in part in said shank memberand operably connected tosaid strikermernberand including a plungerslidable in said shank member and a linkpivotally connected to the.lower end of the plunger and to the lower part of the striker member,said spring means extending partially into said housing and including ,aspring which is under compressionwhenthe deviceis cocked, and cockingand releasing means for said spring means in said housing adjacent saidmanipulating handle.

2. In a device such as described, an elongated tubular shank memberhaving upper and lower ends, an open upstanding striker head orframeconnected to the lower endof said member andjhaving a lower end forplacement against the ground when said shank member is in; a downwardlyinclined position, a striker member movably mounted in the forwardportion of said striker head for impelling the ball and having an uperend pivoted to the upper part of saidstriker head, a housing carried bythe upper .end of said-shank member, spring means.

in said shank member for actuating said striker member fiq lnfifitedatthe lower end to the lower end of said striker member and having anupper end extendingintosaid housing, a manipulating handle extendingrearwardly from .saidhousing, cocking and releasing means for saidspring means, and a movable hand-grip member operable to energize saidspring means mounted on the device below but in proximity to saidmanipulating handle.

3. In a device such as described, the combination of an elongatedtubular shank member, a head or frame at the lower end of said shankmember adapted to rest at its lower end against the ground when theshank member is in an upwardly inclined position, said head or framehaving an upstanding open front portion closed at the top and bottom andat the sides, a striker member movably mounted in said open frontportion for forward ball-impelling movement and pivoted in said portionadjacent the top thereof and having a lower portion equipped with aball-contacting projection, spring-pressed means Within the tubularmember for actuating said striker member, a link pivotally connectingsaid spring-pressed means with the lower part of said striker member,triggerreleased controlling means for said spring-pressed means carriedby the upper end of said shank member, said spring-pressed meansincluding a spring which is under compression in the cocked position ofthe device, a manipulating handle for the device located at the upperend of said shank member, and a movable member for compressing saidspring mounted on the device adjacent said manipulating handle.

4. A device for use in lawn pool and similar games,

comprising an elongated hollow shank member in the nature of a staffhaving a frame at the lower end for placement against theground when theupper end portion of the device is grasped by a person standing on theplaying surface, said frame being an open frame having an upstandingfront portion closed at the top and bottom, a striker member pivotallymounted in said frame and pivoted to the top part of said front portionand having a forwardly movable projecting ball-impelling lower portion,means operatively associated with said frame for limiting the forwardmovement of said lower portion, and spring-pressed means for actuatingsaid striker member connected to said device and located in said shankmember and cockable and releasable by manipulation from the upper endportion of said shank member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS937,078 Laudermilch Oct. 19, 1909 1,609,247 Hanley Nov. 30, 19262,001,449 Bergstrom May 14, 1935 2,399,711 Smith May 7, 1946 2,401,195Schutte May 28, 1946 2,542,777 Loew Feb. 20, 1951

